Imagine yourself around 2 million people in 107 degree weather.
Can you imagine that?
Well during the summer I went to Madrid, Spain for something called World Youth Day. For those of you who have no idea what I’m talking about, let me start by saying WYD is a Catholic pilgrimage for young people. A pilgrimage is when you go see someone/something that has to do with your faith/beliefs.
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I went to Madrid to see the Pope. WYD is a large Catholic gathering of young people ages 16 to 35 from all over the world who come together to celebrate the Catholic faith.
Can you say that you met people from Spain, Italy, France, Philippines, China, Japan, Germany, and many other countries this summer? I met so many people in less than 10 days. During the trip, I gained a better knowledge about myself and who I want to be.
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Also. my faith has increased and I’m no longer afraid to say, “Yeah I’m Catholic, and I’m totally OK with it.” Spending almost two weeks with 2 million people will definitely change you as a person. Not only did I lose 10 pounds, but I lost all fear that I had ever had of proclaiming my faith. Can most 16-year-olds walk around saying, “I love church and love who I am?” I know I can.
We arrived at our pilgrimage site at 4 in the afternoon and that night we all slept outside waiting for the Pope. Pope Benedict came that morning to do an outdoor Mass and to bless us. It was probably the best experience ever.
My name is Katie Marie Lucy Ashmead. I am 16–years-old, I’m a Roman Catholic and I love my faith. I go to church every Sunday and volunteer at my church all the time. My friends call me Jesus child, and I’m okay with that. Call me what you want. I really don’t care. All I care about is having my life fulfilled with doing what I want to do and loving everyone around me.
“Live, love, laugh.” That’s my motto!
God Bless!
- Katie Ashmead
The RHS Creative Writing blog posts are part of an interactive collaboration between Vernon Patch and Victoria Nordlund's advanced creative writing class. Each student in the class writes a blog post once per week and the class votes on which ones to publish on Vernon Patch.
